Food spend won't reduce no matter how I try!

Triggles

I would have to agree with the fussy eating of DS, mainly because I too have a DS that is rather fussy about his eating habits, although he has much improved over the last 6 months. We make sure there is one thing on his plate every evening at tea that we know he will eat, even if it's just bread with butter on it. We don't make a big deal of it, but he gets what everyone else gets. He has really started trying new things now that we are doing this, some of which he likes, some he hasn't - but he's much more willing to try new foods now. We had to do this, as otherwise it severely limited what everyone else was eating - as I'm not making two separate meals in the evening!! I also try to make a meal that I know he will like and finish completely a few times a week.

As far as cutting costs - you might want to try a few things like:
- buy more chicken legs, drumsticks, and thighs instead of filets - much cheaper and the meat is just as good
- buy a whole chicken occasionally and get a few meals out of it. We roast a chicken for tea (take all leftover meat off chicken, freeze some and put some in fridge for sandwiches), next day is vegetable soup with dumplings made with chicken stock from the carcass. Then we use some of the frozen leftovers later for chicken and mushroom pie or some other chicken casserole type thing. There's a thread called "rubber chicken" floating around somewhere that has a bunch of recipes and stuff for this.
- buy more tinned fruit - if you're having trouble getting DS to eat it, try chopping it up and putting it in jelly for a dessert
- try to have two meals a week that do not have meat - like beans on toast (dress it up with cheese, onion), omelettes and toast.
- try cutting beef mince in half for meals where it's mixed with other things - like spag bol, chili, casserole - and bulk up the meal with veg or onion, mushrooms, peppers.
- we buy value mushrooms, onions, peppers at the supermarket at a much cheaper rate and chop them up and put them in large resealable freezer bags and just take out what we need and throw them in the cooking straight from the freezer bag. (if you freeze it flat in the bag with the air sucked out with a straw, just squish around the bag a bit here and there while it's freezing and the stuff won't stick together)
- look at some of the real value sauces in the supermarkets. we buy a sweet and sour sauce for 24p at Sainsburys, put chicken legs in the pan, pour the sauce over it, add a tin of value pineapple chunks, chopped carrots (or tinned) and peppers and let it cook til the chicken is done, then serve over rice. Some of the sauces are quite good and even better cheaply dressed up.

scotsaver

Hi SAV3R, recognise you from the Grocery Challenge - if your Son doesn't like HM Bread or rolls what about MRSMC's Tortilla wraps http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=13240567#post13240567 or look on the First page of January Grocery Challenge, post number 2 has the full recipe collections and Posts 5 & 6 have all the Grocery Challenge recipes and there are loads of really good ideas/suggestions on there. HTH.:D

beemuzed

I know just hpw difficult it can be with a fussy eater on board! DS used to eat very little as a child, and DGD can seemingly go for days on about two spoons of porridge!
I also wonder whether you have a reasonable range of supermarket options where you live? I know my sisters, who both have Aldi, Lidl, Sainsburys, Asda and Tesco where they live, can buy loads for far less than we do. We have only Waitrose or Tesco - neither of whom are cheap! That in itself keeps the weekly spend high.
Good luck with trying to get it down tho'. There are loads of tips on here, guess I'd try just a few to start with - too many changes all at once can be overwhelming.

Phudge

I am enjoying all these tips as we are trying to reduce our food bill too.

Just wondering about your son who is a fussy eater - do you ever get him involved in the cooking? Children who learn to cook and prepare food usually enjoy the results of their efforts, are proud of it and eat up enthusiastically! If he has no experience try starting with something very easy like a fruit smoothie in a blender (use up those spotty bananas!) or some simple cakes. Is that an idea?

SAV3R

scotsaver wrote: »

First page of January Grocery Challenge, post number 2 has the full recipe collections and Posts 5 & 6 have all the Grocery Challenge recipes and there are loads of really good ideas/suggestions on there. HTH.:D

I have started to re-read some of the older posts and look in more detail making notes etc as I go. Sometimes you need to recharge the brain cells etc and remind yourself don't you? It is good to get other peoples input too as someone else can suggest something that may be obvious but you just don't think of. The gradual changes I have made are now becoming the norm.

Been to Ffoods this aft, stocked the freezer quite nicely, managed to buy £34.96 worth for £22.46. Had a nice £2.50 off £25 voucher from Mum and £10 vouchers after sending an email in complaint a few months ago. I don't usually bother with complaints but was not happy with a couple of things, it was a very nice response from them.

My son loves to help in the kitchen but still refuses to try things. When he first started with his asthma, he had a couple of very bad times. it started when he was quite new to solid foods, he couldn't even keep milk down, it had to be watered down. Many foods used to make him gag and I am convinced some of it is psychological - can't get any medical help though, everyone just says "he'll grow out of it" or "he looks healthy enough".

msgnomey

with the BM will he perhaps eat it if you use the 'dough' cycle and then shape the bread yourself, my DD didn't like the bread if it was cooked in the BM but if I made rolls or put it in a loaf tine she was quite happy

t4mof

SAV3R wrote: »

My son loves to help in the kitchen but still refuses to try things. When he first started with his asthma, he had a couple of very bad times. it started when he was quite new to solid foods, he couldn't even keep milk down, it had to be watered down. Many foods used to make him gag and I am convinced some of it is psychological - can't get any medical help though, everyone just says "he'll grow out of it" or "he looks healthy enough".

Your son sounds identical to my 7 year old. He loves cooking and often chooses recipe books from the library and cooks many things. But he lives on a very restricted diet of tomato soup, apples, bread, cereal, carrots, thin chips (have to be thin and usually very well cooked on the verge of being burnt - any other thickness he gags on), sausages, toast and that's about it.

I've also had advice from a health visitor who just told me to put out what the rest of us were eating and eventually he would get so hungry he would eat. We kept it up for 2 weeks and he missed every single evening meal. And then I was just convinced that his body was just getting used to having 2 meals a day and he wasn't actually getting hungry. I also think it's psychological with him - have you ever watched Freaky Eaters?? It's scary how like DS the adults are and every single one of them link food to something unpleasant. For DS it was a bad cold at 18 months old which stopped him eating. Before then we had no problems. He weened fine and ate normal meals. After his cold, he rejected everything. His current diet is much more varied than it was 5 years ago but it's a slow process of getting more foods into him.

My brother in law was also the same as a child and although he's still not a great eater at 30, he's better than he was. I am hoping it is a "grow out of it" thing.

Anyway, I haven't given you any advice on your actual question - I just had to give my two penneth worth with our sons being so similar

SAV3R

msgnomey - this is an idea to try, when i was first given the BM i only made a few loaves but used it more over Christmas, as I'm getting more used to it now, I do want him to eat it, otherwise we have to keep remembering to thaw a few slices of supermarket bread just for him.

t4mof - "Anyway, I haven't given you any advice on your actual question - I just had to give my two penneth worth with our sons being so similar "

You may not have given me advice but its nice to know someone else is going through similar, I haven't seen the freaky eaters but have heard a bit about it.

Applepie_2

I agree with Bagpuss11 on buying fruit/veg, etc from a market. I go near to 5pm on Saturdays and get carrier bags of each type for £1 each. There's always a lot to choose from. Saves me a fortune and tends to be good quality.

skipsmum

Hi, just jumped on to say I sympathise with you having a poor eater. DS2 was hospitalised last year having refused to eat anything but ham for weeks. Although people often say children will not starve themselves, they do!
In DS2s case he was eventually diagnosed with crohns disease, arthritis and asperger syndrome, and now eats cooked chicken, bacon, jacobs crackers, and raw carrots. Thats it, every day! I spend at least £5 a week on new things that he might like to try, and all meet with tight lips or retching.
Btw, he loves helping in the kitchen, just wont eat whats been cooked. He even gets offended if we dont eat what he cooks!